Electromagnetic relay



J n- 1964 B. A. SOMERS ETAL. 3,118,033

ELECTROMAGNETIC RELAY Filed Nov. 15, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS BROCK A. SOMERS STEPHEN L. PELGAR A TTORNEYS United States Patent 3,118,033 ELECTROMAGNETIQ RELAY Brock A. Somers and Stephen L. Pelgar, Simshury, Conn, assignors to Hi-G Incorporated, Windsor Locks, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Filed Nov. 15, 1961, Ser. No. 152,538 2 Claims. (Cl. 200-104) This invention is directed to an improved electromagnetically actuated switching device having particular utility in applications where high-operating reliability is required such as in missile and aircraft apparatus as well as in computers and has for a primary object the provision of an improved relay having remarkably small size for its current-carrying ability, while, at the same time, exhibiting the desired operating durability and reliability as required by the aforementioned uses.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved relay having a size and configuration rendering it particularly suitable for use in printed circuit boards which must be arranged in closely spaced operating relationship.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an improved miniature relay having precision operating characteristics under widely varying environmental conditions while at the same time being unusually economical to manufacture without sacrificing reliability of operation.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a relay having a unique structural configuration that substantially reduces assembly time and skill requirements while providing an extremely compact and rugged relay.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the relay of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the operating structure of the relay of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the relay of FIG. 1.

Turning now to the drawings, it is seen that the preferred embodiment of this invention comprises a header assembly designated on which is supported a contact actuator assembly designated 12 and an enclosure or can 13 which surrounds the operating structure of the relay and which is sealed to the header assembly 10 to entrap a dry nitrogen or similar operating environment for the relay.

The header assembly 10 includes a flat square base or header 15 having mounted therein a plurality of con tact pins 16, 17 and 18 which are utilized to establish plug-in connection to a suitable socket such as would be found on a printed circuit board. In the illustrated embodiment, the pins 16 are used to establish electrical connection to the contact actuator assembly and the pins 17 support relatively fixed contacts 20 and 21 between which extends a spring-like movable contact 22 mounted on the pin 18 for movement toward and away from the fixed contacts along a line generally parallel to the plane of the header 15. Other pin configurations or other header mounting arrangements can be provided as needed, however.

The desired operative movement of the movable contact 22 is provided by a contact actuator assembly 12 that includes a pair of generally L-shaped pole pieces or core members 28 which are identical in shape in the 3,118,033 Patented Jan. 14,1964

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preferred embodiment and formed from a suitable magnetic material. The desired number of turns of wire 30 are wound on a plastic bobbin 31 to form a solenoid having a generally square central passageway extending axially therethrough, which passageway accepts the arms 35 of the pole pieces 28 in overlapping engagement so that the extending end 37 (see FIG. 1) of each arm can be welded or otherwise secured together to define a generally U-shaped core having opposed, spaced pole faces 40 and 41. It is noted that the overlapping construction of the core components provides pole faces which are of very large area with respect to core cross section area and essentially coplanar even though formed on the opposite sides of the respective core members; that is, the core members or poles are offset one above the other, not only to facilitate core assembly but also to provide large pole faces.

An armature dimensioned to close the gap between and engage the pole faces 40 and 41 is formed of suitable magnetic material supported on a nonmagnetic bracket 47 welded or otherwise secured to one of the core members 28. As most clearly seen in FIG. 3, the armature 45 is provided with offset arms having essentially coplanar pole-engaging faces 49 and 50 and with a centrally located aperture 52 through which the pin 54 extends to support the armature for rotation between the apertured ears 56 of mounting bracket 47, the axis of rotation of armature 45 extending along a line that is generally parallel to the members 28 and substantially midway between the opposed edges of the pole faces 40 and 41. The armature pole faces 49 and 50 are of ap proximately the same area as the core pole faces 40 and 41 thereby minimizing armature alignment problems while maintaining high magnetic efficiency. Armature 45 is also provided with a contact actuating finger 60 which extends downwardly therefrom in a plane generally perpendicular to the pole-engaging faces 49 and 50.

In order to support the contact actuator assembly 12 on the header 15 while utilizing a minimum amount of header space, there is provided a unitary nonmagnetic support which is generally U-shaped and provided with a plurality of tabs or legs 67 which are received in the notches 68 formed in the edge of the header 15. The lower edges 70 of the support 65 rest along the outer periphery of the header contact mounting surface and position the support in a generally perpendicular relationship to the plane of the header. The upper edges 74 and 75 of support 65 are bent downwardly to define a pair of opposed, generally parallel shelves which are dimensioned to engage the underside of the core members 28 so as to position the core members generally parallel with the header, rear tabs 79 and 80 being bent over to engage the upper surface of the core members 28 and to insure their positive positioning relative to the support and the header. If desired, the shelves 74 and 75 and tabs 79 and 80 can be brazed or otherwise secured to the core members adjacent the overlapped portion thereof to positively secure the actuator assembly in position.

The dimensioning of the support member 65 is such that the contact actuator assembly is spaced above the contact supporting plane of the header by a distance at least sufficient to provide clearance between the solenoid and the contacts, While at the same time making this clearance minimum thereby to reduce the overall dimensions of the relay package. This dimensioning also positions the contact actuator 60 so that its arc of travel upon movement of the armature brings the end thereof into engagement with the end portion 81 of contact 22 to effect engagement thereof with fixed contact 20.

The reverse travel of armature 45 or travel away from the pole faces 40 and 41 is achieved in the preferred embodiment through the utilization of the spring 85 'which has one end in engagement with actuator 60 and its other end secured to an arm 86 formed integrally with the support 65. lit is to be understood that other means can be provided, such as, for example, the spring pressure exerted on the actuator 60* by a spring contact finger 22. Reverse movement of the armature is limited, however, by step 82 formed integrally with bracket 47.

For completeness, it is noted that the conductor ends 8 3 and S9 of solenoid 30 are connected to pins 1 6 on the header so as to establish circuit connection to the armature assembly.

From the foregoing description of my invention, it is noted that construction and assembly of this miniature relay is greatly facilitated through the use of easily fabricated subassemblies. The header, while extremely small in size, is easily accessible from all sides to permit economical manufacture as well as mounting of the various terminals and contacts to form a header subassembly. The formation of the actuator subassembly requires merely that the core members 2 8 have their ends 35 inserted through the aperture in the solenoid after the armature and its support have been attached to one or" the core members; the core members are then welded together and the actuator assembly is positioned on the shelves 74 and '75 and under the lips 79 and 80 of the supporting member and secured thereto. The support member 65 is then positioned in the notches 63 formed in the header and secured thereto and the connections to energize the coil are completed. After desired adjustments are completed, the can 13 can be attached to the header.

The U-shaped configuration of the support 65 enables a single-stamped nonmagnetic member to easily and accurately position the actuator assembly relative to the header while providing maximum rigidity for the various operating members as well as accessibility thereto. The twopiece core assembly is economically formed by a stamping operation to provide, with the armature, an erficient magnetic circuit devoid of critical adjustment. The structt res and techniques of this invention have been successfully used to produce a relay having the configuration of a cube one-half inch on a side which will interrupt currents in excess of 1 ampere at 30 volts DC.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modifications and adaptations of the structure above described Will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A miniature relay comprising a base having a plurality of contacts supported thereon, at least one of said contacts being movable in a direction parallel to said base for engagement with another contact, an electromagnetically actuated contact actuator assembly including a pair of L-shaped core members secured together in overlapping engagement, a solenoid disposed about the overlapped portion of said core members so that the free ends thereof define spaced parallel poles, an armature supported by one of said core member adjacent the pole for rotation about an axis parallel to and between the poles and a contact actuator secured to said armature end extending in a plane generally perpendicular to said poles, and a nonmagnetic support secured to said base and to each of said core members adjacent the overlapped portion thereof and supporting said actuator assembly in spaced substantially coextensive relationship with said base with the poles generally parallel to the base and with said contact actuator engaging the movable contact upon cnergization of said solenoid.

2. A miniature relay as set forth in claim 1 wherein said base has recesses formed in three adjacent edges and said nonmagnetic support is U-shaped, has leg portions secured within the recesses in said base, has sides extending generally perpendicular to said base along three sides thereof, and has a plurality of shelves secured in supporting engagement with the core members of the actuator assembly.

References (Jilted in the file of this patent 

1. A MINIATURE RELAY COMPRISING A BASE HAVING A PLURALITY OF CONTACTS SUPPORTED THEREON, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID CONTACTS BEING MOVABLE IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL TO SAID BASE FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH ANOTHER CONTACT, AN ELECTROMAGNETICALLY ACTUATED CONTACT ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A PAIR OF L-SHAPED CORE MEMBERS SECURED TOGETHER IN OVERLAPPING ENGAGEMENT, A SOLENOID DISPOSED ABOUT THE OVERLAPPED PORTION OF SAID CORE MEMBERS SO THAT THE FREE ENDS THEREOF DEFINE SPACED PARALLEL POLES, AN ARMATURE SUPPORTED BY ONE OF SAID CORE MEMBER ADJACENT THE POLE FOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS PARALLEL TO AND BETWEEN THE POLES, AND A MONTACT ACTUATOR SECURED TO SAID ARMATURE END EXTENDING IN A PLANE GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID POLES, AND A NONMAGNETIC SUPPORT SECURED TO SAID BASE AND TO EACH OF SAID CORE MEMBERS ADJACENT THE OVERLAPPED PORTION THEREOF AND SUPPORTING SAID ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY IN SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID BASE WITH THE POLES GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE BASE AND WITH SAID CONTACT ACTUATOR ENGAGING THE MOVABLE CONTACT UPON ENERGIZATION OF SAID SOLENOID. 